I'm working on documenting the process to disassemble this so I can reset the mileage back to 0

By bench powering it with a 120mph signal it would take months of continuous runtime to run it forward to roll it around to 0 miles so that's out of the question.

Does anyone know how to separate the faceplate from the odometer head without breaking anything?

It appears there are 2 tapered head screws holding the odo had to the faceplate, and you can only get to them by peeling off the overlay from the faceplate

Thanks

 

Never had a 90-92 Camaro odometer apart, sorry. As a general rule, I wouldn't publicize how to roll an odometer back on a public forum. It has too much potential for abuse.

 

That's a shame, thanks.

I care not for arguing the politics, these cars are so old now the mileage is a question for each one anyway

If the people here have a problem, Ill document it on my technical website thirdgens.com once its figured out

 

Hmm so I dedicated a hard hour to inspecting this and disassembling it as much as possible without removing material from the speedo head, or separating the face.

There are a few different ways to go about resetting the odometer:

1) Removing the needle, overlay and unscrewing.
This is probably the most obvious method. However the face may not like being pulled off, the white backing on mine started to spot, as some pieces of the white BG were staying with the clear lense. I would not recommend removing the sticker. A heat gun may work, and the needle needs to be removed from the motor as well.

To accurately put the needle back on the motor, you'll need to have the gauge powered up prior to disassembly and record what voltage, HZ, etc on your Signal generator creates say 50mph.

Remove the needle

Then once it's all back together besides the needle, power the cluster then reenter your settings to recreate 50mph. Press the needle on at 50mph. Note, it is possible the absence of weight of the needle may allow the motor to move the spindle forward more.

While theoretically possible, I have untested this method and saved it as a last resort since irreversible damage to the overlay may occur



2) Remove the clip from the odometer and push the roller assembly to expose the spindle. Using a drill, and an attachment you can now make it move forward much faster.

1 RPM = 1 mile
900,000 RPM = 900,000 miles

a standard 2 speed drill can do 1,900rpm

leaving that on continuously would take 473minutes or 7.89 hours

MUCH faster than trying to drive the odometer motor, which when I originally calculated the how long it would take with that method @ 110mph to go 900,000~ miles, I came up with around a few months IIRC. This is a better option at 8hrs vs months.


3) Cut the top of the odometer housing to allow it to come out.
This may be the route I end up taking. Although this modifies the speedo housing permanently, it will never be visible to the user.
Cut the side as shown, and this should allow the odometer roll to come out. From there you can spin the numbers as you'd like then replace.


Notes:

1) As you can see the odometer motor can be removed with a 4.5mm wrench and about 5-10minutes of wrenching. This would also give you the ability to get a geared attachment for a drill as well
2) The needle is driven by the 4 prong motor and held in by the 2 phillips screws on the bottom + the interference between the clear overlay and odometer bracketry. The needle appears to just be pressed on

 

Success. Cut the side, that allows you just enough room to pull the head out and remove the plastic clip on the bottom, then rotate the numbers back to 0.

Rotating them back to 0 is tricky, you need to push the little metal tab forwards/backwards for each corresponding digit to move it backwards.

Reinstalling is difficult, but not impossible just take your time, especially with the cutting.

Oh and use a dremel, and not a soldering iron like I did

Enjoy

 

Is that whole thing plastic? I may have to re-visit this for my car, I thought the odometer carrier was metal and I just put it back together. I may be mixing up vehicles though.

 

Yes the odometer carrier is plastic, the only parts on the odometer wheel that I can see that are metal is the shaft that goes through the numbers, and the thin metal dividers that separate the numbers

If you do go this route, be sure to take your time with the cuts or you could hit the odometer wheel. Hardest part is getting the wheel back in without destroying the plastic retainer for the dividers between the digits.

 

Oh ok. I think the Firebird is much different regardless, also would have helped if you took the face plate and needle off so you had more room

 

I covered that in my post above. On this style there are 2 tapered head screws that hold the plastic top to the odometer housing. They can only be removed if you pull up the overlay. You may also need to remove the needle for more clearance

The problem with this is the white backing starts to separate from the face and may result in destroying the overlay. Another possible way is to drill the overlay in the two spots to create a hole where the screws are to gain access, but this will be noticeable to the user

 

I missed that, sorry. Firebird is different, again the Firebird face comes off without having to do anything like that, the screws are accessible.

 

That's correct. You could technically be able to remove the overlay without touching the needle, but not without permanently damaging the overlay itself with some nasty bends. I had to remove the needle to get mine off last year. My overlay was already damaged by previous owner attempt at repairing it, so I needed it off the cluster to try and straighten it, if possible at all. My bet is the glue reacted to the type of plastic used in the overlay itself, causing it to deform. There might be no saving it.

Your thread is pretty interesting.

 

^ Ouch, that is very cringe worthy lol

Thanks for showing us what they look like removed

 

Yeah it's pretty bad. The needle would hit the face around 140 and would stick there, it was annoying.

I left it under a flat surface with ~100 lbs of stuff over it for the whole weekend and when I pulled it out this morning there was no changes in the deformities. I doubt this type of plastic allows for changes in shape once it's out of the mold, other than permanent damage of course.

I'm not sure if heat could help it back straight, but I'm worried about the surface finish if I go that way. Since I don't know what it's made of, it could destroy it as much as repair it with heat. I know not all plastic react the same way with heat but I know next to nothing about the way it works.

I did remove the old glue with some standard gasket remover but it pulled the white and blue tint behind the face at the same time. It doesnt looks like it makes a difference on the color seen through the face though. Other than that I made no progress. I did find a website that offers replacement covers that aren't just stickers at 120$ a set, but I try to keep that as last resort.

 

Interestingly enough, I found a repair service and it appears they are removing the overlay and installing brand new odometer rolls

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1990-1991-1...VZpPqs&vxp=mtr

This begs the question, if you can buy new odometer rolls, I wonder if there is a source out there for a new overlay. Or maybe they are using a heat gun to successfully remove the overlay without damage?

Here's a webpage with a listing of parts for a cluster with PN#'s search revealing nothing available

http://www.gmpartswiki.com/getpage?pageid=129979

 

From what I've gathered searching the part #s in the pictures, all those parts were discontinued in '96. If they have a source for these parts, it's kept secret pretty good.

So far I've found a website that offers custom gauge overlay that aren't stickers you put of top of existing Speedo gauge.

https://www.blackcatcustom.ca/camaro.htm

They offer it in mph and kph, and black/yellow colors, but I'm not sure if it looks just like the original ones.

 

Im waking this dead post up. haha.

I need to replace the odometer in my 91 and found this thread searching google. The gears are stripped in mine since the first two roller number just seem to spin freely on their own. Do you guys have any additional pics of the cutting mod you did to get the roller out? I dont want to take the chance of ruining the overlay trying to peel it off. I have a spare speedo assembly coming in soon to use as practice but I need the odometer out of it.